Finding Her Way Home
by Lord-of-Dragons2007
Summary: An AU where twelve year old Emma is adopted by Mary-Margret from the Storybrooke orphanage, filled with angst and family feels. Rated teen for now. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**Finding Her Way Home**

 **By: Lord-of-Dragons2007**

 **A/N:** I do not own the characters, concepts, and so on. This is an AU where Emma grew up in the storybrooke orphanage, free from the curse and where David wasn't in a coma and wasn't married to Abigail or whatever her name was.

Twelve year old Emma Swan never had it easy, ever since she was born she had to endure one heartache after another, one failure after another, one heartbreaking disappointment after another. After so much pain she just started to shut down, she no longer hoped for anything good no matter what happened, she always seemed to just go back to a group home after a few days because she was too broken to fix. Though the nuns at the Storybrooke orphanage never gave up hope on her, they told her hang in there, that one day her prince charming would come in and take her away to her castle. Though they didn't realize how ironic it was to say that to her, the town was under an evil curse, no one aged and nothing or anyone changed for over a decade. Everyone was miserable and very unlike who they normally were in the enchanted forest where everyone here, including Emma was from. She had escaped the curse that had affected everyone in town in the respect that she wasn't changed or made miserable because of magic, and she didn't escape in the sense that as a baby when she was sent though the wardrobe to escape the curse she appeared just outside of Storybrooke where she was quickly found and put in the foster care system that she had been in ever since she was born.

When she asked the nuns about where she came from and why she was there they told her the painful and heartbreaking truth that they wound her abandoned on the side of the road, ever since she had thought herself unwanted by anyone. The way people treated her and tossed her aside she felt like she never belonged anywhere, that she was too broken to fix right out of the gate, that her parents didn't want her. It was a hard reality that she faced every morning when she woke up from a dream that haunted her every night, it wasn't a nightmare, and it was actually a very pleasant dream though it felt like a nightmare in the morning. Emma often dreamt of having a family, of having a mother and father and they loved her very much with all of their hearts, and she was happy, then first thing in the morning when she woke up it was like a cold slap of reality as she realized it was just a dream.

Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night and just cry, much to the annoyance to some of the nuns and the other children in home as she tended to wake the kids on accident and the nuns as she desperately looked for some resemblance of love in her little life. Though usually the nuns just calmed her down enough to sleep, but didn't love her at all; made it easier when they left or fell off the system.

About the person in her life that was even remotely close to a mother figure was her teacher Mary-Margret, she was soft and caring and especially patient with her. Emma tended to slack in class or lash out, and instead of sending her away like the other teachers did Mary-Margret would take her aside and try to understand her and where she was coming and then worked to try and get her to either get back on task or calm her down. Emma really liked Mary-Margret and wondered what she would do when she had to move on to the next grade and go without her, it scared her when she thought about it but she tried not to and just enjoyed what little time she had with her favorite teacher.

Mary-Margret had always been a bit of a meek woman in the sense that she wasn't very assertive and was always seeking someone's approval for anything and everything, but when it came to Emma she was very protective of the little girl and cared about her more than she had about any other student she had ever thought. Even though she never communicated anything to her she often worried about Emma and wished she could help the girl beyond just in class and school, though she knew there was one thing she could do. She had enough space in her loft apartment for her, she made some extra money so she could support her and Emma together. Of course she would have to dial back her hours volunteering at the hospital so she could spend some time with Emma and her semi-nonexistent social life would have to take a bit of a hit but it would completely worth it if she could turn this little girl's life around and show her that she isn't broken that someone could love her for exactly who she was.

It had taken Mary-Margret a few months to go through whatever classes and paperwork in order to qualify as a competent parent for the orphanage that Emma was at. She had also taken to cleaning out a room and setting it up for her, she figured she would just leave it a little bear and they could decorate it together. It would be a good opportunity to bond together, as she moved closer and closer to finally being able to surprise Emma she grew more and more excited about it. Today was finally the day, she was just a ball of energy all day long and it was very noticeable, it was hard for her to keep it from Emma at school. Finally when four o'clock came around she rushed herself to the orphanage and was greeted warmly by the nuns, she was sitting in the main lobby filling out the last of the paperwork when Emma came in and saw her,

"Miss Blanchard, what are you doing here?" Emma asked her curiously, confused to see her teacher here,

"Well…I…Am here…For you." Mary Margret said as she accentuated the last couple of words with dot on the clipboard and paper and stood up excitedly,

"..Me? Did I do something wrong?" Emma said nervously as he watched the woman, Mary Margret had handed the clipboard and paper to Mother Superior who was the head nun who ran the orphanage,

"Thank you Mary Margret, and bless you." Mother Superior said as she took the last of the paperwork,

"Emma did you want to come with me and get your stuff?" The nun asked the girl curiously which left a semi-confused look on her face, she looked over at Mary Margret and she looked like she was ready to burst with happiness,

"I'm adopting you!" Mary Margret nearly shouted out excitedly, Emma' face lit up with excitement, unable to contain herself she flung herself against Mary Margret and embraced her in a tight loving hug. Mary Margret was surprised at first but then quickly melted into the little girl's embrace, after a moment or two of excitement and happiness Mary Margret pulled away,

"Go get your stuff kiddo." Mary Margret said gently with a wide beaming smile as she gently nudged Emma to follow Mother Superior to her room and get her things,

"Ok." Emma said excitedly in almost a whisper, she turned and went with the nun to get her things. Mary-Margret watched her daughter go to get her stuff and she could almost feel herself glow, she always wanted kids, albeit this wasn't the way she wanted to go about it but that didn't matter, she loved Emma as if she was her own anyway.

After a few moments she saw Emma come back with a sizeable back with her stuff, and she frowned on the inside. She couldn't believe that she only had so little that it could fit inside one bag that size, she was going to make sure to change that, she smiled and stood up again from where was sitting,

"Ready to go sweetie?" Mary Margret asked Emma gently,

"Yeah." Emma responded with an adorable megawatt smile of her own, as they walked to Mary Margret's car to put Emma bag in, Mary Margret took Emma's free hand in hers and held her hand like any parent would do for their child. Emma tensed up for a moment before relaxing into her touch, she wasn't use to such an act, wasn't use to being loved and cared for like this. If Mary Margret had not known what all was involved with Emma she would have thought that what she did was wrong, but she knew a lot about Emma and knew that she was ok with the action just she needed to get used to it. It was going to take time for her to get used to being cared for and loved, but Mary Margret was patient.

Once Emma's bag was in the car and they were in and on the road back to Mary Margret's loft apartment Emma needed to speak up,

"I'm grateful you adopted me, I am –"She started but was interrupted,

"You want to know why you, why now." Mary Margret finished for her assuming that's what she was going to ask as she glanced over at her for a second before returning her attention to the road,

"Yeah." Emma agreed timidly,

"Emma, I care about all of my students, but Ive never connected with anyone as much as I have with you. I just always thought of you as a daughter, I worry what will happen at thend of the school year when you move on to another teacher that wont take the time to get to know you and write you as a problem child and not give you the attention that you need." Mary Margret answered,

"And that's why I adopted you, because I care about you too much to let something bad happen to you. I want you in my life Emma." Mary Margret added after a second, Emma was a little taken back by her words. It wasn't just her she also felt like and looked at Mary Margret like the mother figure she always wanted in her life, she was sweet on her but was always firm and guided her when she needed it. Now more than ever she needed that in her life. Emma felt her heart swell, it was such a foreign feeling for her. She had never felt so loved and wanted, she never felt so safe and happy before in her life, for once in her life things finally looked up for the young girl,

"Thank you." Emma squeaked out with a shaky voice as she fought hard not to cry, she wanted so badly to let out tears of happiness but she didn't want to start things out with Mary Margret this way, with crying and seeming like a cry baby. Sensing Emma's intense happiness and her hesitation, Mary Margret moved her hand over and put her hand on Emma's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze,

"Its ok." Mary Margret said gently moving closer to tears herself,

"There's some Kleenex in the glove box." Mary Margret said after a moment with a shaky voice herself, Emma didn't need another invite to the box of tissues in the glove box. She grabbed a couple for herself and for Mary Margret, Mary Margret started to park the car across the street from her apartment and took the tissues from Emma,

"Thank you." Mary Margret said as she took the tissues from Emma and started to rub her eyes, Emma did the same still holding back all of her emotions. After a few moments of contained crying Mary Margret spoke up,

"What do you say we get your stuff upstairs and we can really let the water works go." Mary Margret said with a soft chuckle in her voice, Emma smiled at her words,

"Ok." She replied nodding her head in agreement, both of them took a couple of deep breaths composing themselves before they exited the car. Mary Margret went over and grabbed Emma's bag for her,

"I got it." Emma said,

"I know sweetie, let me get it this time." She said obviously not going to take no for an answer, Emma just let her, when they were ready to head into the building Mary Margret grabbed Emma's hand to keep her close while they crossed the street. Even though She knew Emma was old enough to do so she still wanted to hold her hand and keep her close to keep her safe, Emma now was more use it and didn't tense up at holding Mary Margret's hand, she welcomed being looked after like this. Even though she was old enough she enjoyed it. Once they were across the street Emma could tell what building they were going to go into and she tugged away from Mary Margret and went up ahead and opened the door for her,

"Why thank you." Mary Margret said as she entered the building,

"Thank you." Emma said with a smile on her face, she felt very comfortable around Mary Margret, she didn't feel pressured in any way shape or form. Mary Margret let Emma up to the apartment and used her key to get inside, when Emma was inside she looked around at the apartment and marveled at how spacious it was compared to some of the group homes she lived in in the past and in the orphanage. This was the first time she had ever seen Mary Margret's apartment, she was impressed at how spacious it was and how well decorated it was,

"Let me show you to your room." Mary Margret said as she put her keys down on the counter and lead Emma to her room, it was in the back but still very close to Mary Margret's room. It was a simple room with not much in it, just a little table, a spacious bed, a bedside table with a lamp and that was about it, Mary Margret felt a little embarrassed that she didn't decorate it at all,

"Sorry if it's a little bare, I didn't know how you wanted to decorate it. I figure it would be a good bonding experience for us." Mary Margret said hopefully, Emma's eyes and face were full of light, she finally a place to herself, this was just about the best day ever. She turned around and gave Mary Margret an excited smile,

"I love it." Emma said excitedly before she wrapped her arms around Mary Margret, she did the same as well before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. To Emma it felt weird, alien to her but she didn't hate it, she loved the simple little motion. It made her feel loved and wanted, something she had wanted ever since she was very little and knew she didn't have a real mommy and daddy, now she had a mommy and it was amazing. Mary-Margret was so happy she had made this little girl so happy, she had seen some of Emma's bad days and saw how unhappy she was. After a few moments she pulled away from the embrace and looked at Emma with such a happy glow of a smile,

"What would you like for dinner?" Mary-Margret asked her, Emma thought hard for a moment or two. She was a little nervous, she wanted a grilled cheese sandwich but she wasn't sure if wanting that would make Mary-Margret unhappy, if she wanted her to have something else. Emma mentally shook her head and cleared the thoughts out of her head, she knew and trusted Mary-Margret. She wasn't like the other foster parents, she was special and caring and amazing,

"Can I have a grilled cheese sandwich?" She asked in a small shy voice, Mary-Margret smiled at her,

"Do you want tomato soup with it too or do you want potato chips with it instead?" Mary-Margret asked in a chipper tone, this surprised Emma a little bit but brought a smile to Emma's face,

"Soup Please." Emma responded with a chipper tone of her own,

"Ok, I'll get dinner going and you can get settled and come down when you're ready to eat." Mary-Margret said before turning to go to the kitchen. Emma spent a few minutes unpacking her bag and putting things in the closet and in the little dresser that was in her room, after that she sat on her bed and thought about her day and the way things were going now she couldn't help but smile. Everything was looking really really good, she was happy, she couldn't be happier, she had a home now, she had a mother now and everything was perfect or as perfect as things could go for her right now.

 **A/N: ok so I was feeling a little angsty and wanted some cute little emma and family feels so I did a thing lol I hope you guys like this, not sure yet if I'll continue on this or not. You guys let me know in the reviews and such =)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Finding Her Way Home**

 **By: Lord-of-Dragons2007**

 **A/N: I do not own the characters, concepts, and so on. This is an AU where Emma grew up in the Storybrooke orphanage, free from the curse and where David wasn't in a coma and wasn't married to Abigail or whatever her name was.**

"Emma, dinner is ready!" Mary-Margret called for her to come and eat, it hadn't taken her long to make Emma's favorite meal. As Emma sat there thinking she could smell the beautiful aroma and felt her stomach starting to growl and rumble that she was hungry. When she was called she quickly came down the stairs to the kitchen where two plates and bowls were waiting for her, one was for her and the other was for Mary-Margret next both dishes were cups of hot chocolate with whip cream and cinnamon on top. Emma came over and took a seat at one of the identical settings and she looked at the cup of hot chocolate,

"Cinnamon?" Emma asked Mary-Margret curiously,

"Hey, don't knock it until you try it. I love it this way, I thought you would too. If you don't like it you don't have to drink it." Mary-Margret explained lightly, Emma took the mug and took a hesitant sip of the drink. Her brows rose in surprise,

"I love it!" Emma exclaimed to Mary-Margret happily who in turn laughed at the girl, Emma's brows knitted in confusion,

"Hey! What's so funny?" Emma asked with a miffed tone in her voice,

"I'm sorry sweetie, it's just you have all of this whip cream all over your nose." Mary Margret said trying to stop laughing,

"Come here kiddo." Mary-Margret said as she took a clean napkin and started to gently pat Emma's nose clean,

"Why thank you." Emma said still with a little bit of a pout in her voice after Mary-Margret had finished getting all the cream off Emma's nose,

"I'm sorry sweetie, you were just too adorable I couldn't help myself. I'm sure you'll catch me being a little dork that you'll laugh at too." Mary-Margret apologized gently and tried to make Emma feel better,

"Its ok, I guess." Emma said with a smile on her face now, Emma's smile put Mary-Margret at ease now,

"Ok, let's eat. This isn't good cold and it's not as good when you reheat it." Mary-Margret said as she dove into her sandwich and took a big bite of it, however the cheese in the sandwich was still much too hot and it burned a little in her mouth. Mary-Margret made a show of it, she made a few little squeak noses and made a show of she didn't know if she should spit it out or swallow it quickly. This elicited a little chuckle from Emma who didn't think she would see Mary-Margret making a dork out of herself so quickly, feeling bad for her adoptive mother she went around and got a glass of cool water and handed to Mary-Margret. She took a big gulp of the cool water and let out a large sigh,

"Take it easy mom." Emma said with a chuckle and an adorable smile on her face,

"Sorry, guess I'm a little too hungry." Mary-Margret said sheepishly, Emma shook her head slightly,

"I couldn't tell." Emma joked with a giggle in her voice, Mary-Margret was falling in love with the little girl, and her little giggles were music to her ears. It was a sound she wished to hear more and more,

"Alright smarty pants, eat your dinner before it gets cold." Mary-Margret said in feigned annoyance but gave her a warm gentle smile, the two ate their meal without any further incident and in peaceful silence. When they both finished their meal, Mary-Margret took the dishes and put them in the sink and then turned to Emma,

"So did you do your homework yet?" Mary-Margret asked Emma curiously,

"Ummm, yes." Emma said hoping to pull one over on her,

"Emma?" Mary-Margret called her firmly and pointedly, Emma slumped her shoulders against the chair. It was foolish trying to hide homework from the person who had assigned it in the first place,

"This is going to be a problem isn't it? I mean you assigned the homework so I can't hide it from you and everything." Emma said stating the fact of the matter to which Mary-Margret just smiled and looked up for a moment and then cast her gaze back on her adoptive daughter,

"I'm afraid it is, all throughout your school career I'm going to know every bit of homework and school function you have." She replied with a lightness in her voice, she was going to make friends with all of Emma's teachers so she could get the scoop of how she was doing, what homework she had to do and what fun things were going on so she could push Emma into socializing and making friends. Emma just shook her head with a smile on her face,

"Ok I'll get on it." Emma said with an over exaggerated sigh and she went for her book bag.

She came back a short time later with her backpack and took out the subject matter books to which she had homework in and piled it on the counter so she could work,

"Why do you assign so much?" Emma complained as she finished piling all the books up,

"Because young minds have lots and lots of learning to do." Mary-Margret replied in feigned incredulousness, she couldn't believe that Emma had said such a thing. In all honesty it wasn't that much homework that needed to be done, Emma was just being a big baby about having to do math homework and needing to read a chapter of her history book and answer a few questions. The way the school worked was that the students had four class subjects a day but the classes were an hour and a half, today Emma had history and math homework from those classes tomorrow she was almost certain that she was going to have homework in science and English. Emma set on working on her homework while Mary-Margret started to straighten up the apartment a little bit and then started to work on grading papers and getting lesson plans together.

It was about a quarter after eight when Emma finished her homework, despite what anyone else and Emma would believe, she was actually very smart and got her homework done fairly quickly and accurately,

"Done." Emma said proudly as she snapped her book shut and started to gather everything together to put away,

"Good." Mary-Margret said with a happy smile as she looked up from the stack of papers she was grading, she wasn't going to be done with work for another couple of hours,

"Ummm Mary-Margret? Can we watch a movie together?" Emma asked shyly, she hoped she would agree. Emma wanted to spend some time and bond with Mary-Margret, maybe if when she was done grading papers that she would want to snuggle with Emma,

"Sure, but bedtime at ten ok." Mary-Margret answered with a warm smile on her face, Emma smiled, maybe she would want to snuggle and bond with Emma, the little girl was very hopeful that this day would only get better from here, Mary-Margret moved her work over to the couch and sat down,

"So what do you want to watch?" Mary-Margret asked Emma curiously,

"Do you by any chance have Snow White and the seven dwarves?" Emma asked her hopefully,

"I do, it's one of my favorites." Mary-Margret said with a smile, this was great they both had the same taste in movies,

"Umm bottom cabinet, that's where the movies are at." Mary-Margret added directing the girl where the movies where at and where she could find the movie she wanted to see, Emma went where Mary-Margret directed and rummaged around the movies. She noticed that she had all the Disney movies that had ever come out, she must have been a huge Disney fan. Emma was alright with that, she hadn't seen most of them but wanted to see them, tonight however was for Snow White. She found the movie and pulled it out,

"Good." Mary-Margret said with a smile before she got up and took the movie from Emma, she turned on the TV and VCR and popped the movie in. Mary-Margret came back to her seat and went back to grading papers, the movie started and Emma went quiet becoming fully engrossed in the movie. She wasn't worried about fitting in, wasn't worried about not being loved, wasn't even worried about upsetting her new adoptive mother, Emma was just a quiet observer of the story being told on the TV. She felt truly at peace now. The movie was about half way over when Mary-Margret had finished grading papers, she laid back and sighed, so much work for one teacher,

"Umm, Mary-Margret?" Emma asked her nervously,

"Emma? What is it?" Mary-Margret answered nervously wondering what was wrong judging by Emma's voice,

"Nothing, it's just. I wanted to ask you something." Emma replied nervously, she didn't know how to word this or even if she should ask her if she could,

"You can ask me anything sweetheart." Mary-Margret said giving her a warm encouraging smile,

"Well ummm, feel free to say no if you don't feel like it, but I was wondering if I could lay my head in your lap and snuggled against you?" Emma asked nervously and then half prepared to get yelled at and possibly punished and sent back to the orphanage. Mary-Margret was taken a little bit by surprise by Emma's request, but she softened when she saw how much she wanted the close contact and the vulnerability in her eyes. Mary-Margret smiled warmly,

"Of course you can come on over." Mary-Margret answered and gently patted her lap, Emma let out a mental sigh of relief and then smiled as she quickly took off her sneakers and scooted closer to her adoptive mother. She put her feet up on the couch and gingerly laid her head on Mary-Margret's lap, she got settled and enjoyed the warmth from her adoptive mother's lap. This just felt…Right, it was very soothing and relaxing, and she looked up into Mary-Margret's face and saw her looking down at her with a megawatt smile that could be as bright if not brighter than the sun. Emma smiled back at her feeling safe and warm in her lap and then turned to focus on the movie. Emma had been watching the movie again for a few moments before she felt something she had never felt before, Mary-Margret was gently running her fingers though Emma's golden locks. The touch was so soft and gentle, it was so relaxing and loving, something she had never felt or experienced before. Emma hummed contently and closed her eyes for a moment enjoying the soft moment with her adoptive mother, she had never thought in a million years that she would be this happy, feel this safe, feel this loved. The two stayed liked this for the rest of the movie, in this long moment of loving tenderness.

When the movie ended Mary-Margret set the video to rewind and then turned off the tv, she looked at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that it was a little before ten,

"Alright kiddo it's time for bed." Emma pouted when the moment came to an end and real life started to resume,

"Are you sure? It still feels early and I'm not that tired." Emma asked as she started to fuss about going to sleep so early,

"Come on, Emma, today was a big day and we got to get up early tomorrow sweetie. Besides tomorrow is Friday and you can stay up later tomorrow and Saturday." Mary-Margret replied trying to get her adoptive daughter to go to bed, Emma let out a little yawn,

"I guess you're right." Emma said semi-begrudgingly, she slowly sat up with a little bit of a groan,

"Oh come on, your bed is going to be nice and comfy." Mary-Margret said as she got up after Emma sat up, Emma left her shoes where they were and followed Mary-Margret to the bathroom where she could wash her face and brush her teeth. The two performed their own nightly rituals together in the little bathroom, after a few moments the two finished and exited the bathroom,

"Ok well my room is right over there, if you need anything don't be shy to go in and wake me up, ok." Mary-Margret said gently,

"Ok will do. Thanks again Mary-Margret." Emma said with a slight blush on her face and a smile as well, to which Mary-Margret knit her brows in confusion,

"You know for giving me a home, and being so sweet and nice. For being a mom." Emma clarified shyly trying not to blush and embarrass herself so much to which Mary-Margret just smiled at her,

"Thank you for being the beautiful ray of sunlight that you are." Mary-Margret responded with a smile before she kissed Emma on the forehead tenderly,

"Would you like me to tuck you in?" Mary-Margret asked her gently, she knew Emma was too old for something like that, but given that she wanted to snuggle up to her on the couch during the movie and everything she had a feeling she would say yes. Emma struggled with the question, on the one hand she had never had anyone that treated her so tenderly and lovingly and wanted that in her life at least every now and then. Then on the other hand she felt like she was too old to enjoy something a five year old would want. It was clear to Mary-Margret that Emma was torn between herself to answer the question, she just smiled at her,

"Come on kiddo, I'll go tuck you in." Mary-Margret said gently as she started to usher Emma inter her room, Emma was glad that she was pushed into it because she was sure she would have passed up something great. Emma crawled into bed and got comfortable, once she was comfortable in it Mary-Margret got the covers and covered Emma up and gently tucked the covers under Emma. Once she was finished Mary-Margret smiled at Emma and didn't say a word she just took in how beautiful and adorable she was before she placed another gentle kiss on her forehead,

"Goodnight, Emma, sweet dreams." Mary-Margret said gently with a smile and then stood up headed towards the door, Emma rolled over onto her side and sighed contently. Mary-Margret stopped at the door and turned around and took one last look at her little angel asleep in her bed, she turned out the light and before she left, she heard Emma speak up one last time,

"Goodnight mom." Emma said sleepily before falling completely asleep, this little action caused Mary-Margret to smile the biggest she had today, she hoped for more days like today. Mary-Margret gently closed her door a bit leaving a bit of a crack to give Emma some privacy and let her know that she didn't have to stay in the room all night, shortly after that she went to her own bedroom and left her door open in case Emma need her at all during the night. She crawled into bed and turned out the lamp on her bedside table, and she looked up at the ceiling and thanked her lucky stars for Emma before she fell asleep herself.

 **A/N: Wow thank you guys so much for the wonderful reviews and words of encouragement on this story, I really didn't think I'd get that many requests to continue this one. Well you spoke and I heard so here we here's the new chapter and I hope it was good and gave you guys all kinds of feels, I'll try to update my other stories this weekend when I can. Thank you guys for being fans and reading and following my work, it doesn't go unnoticed or underappreciated. Thank you all so much! =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Finding Her Way Home**

 **By: Lord-of-Dragons2007**

 **A/N: I do not own the characters, concepts, and so on. This is an AU where Emma grew up in the Storybrooke orphanage, free from the curse and where David wasn't in a coma and wasn't married to Abigail or whatever her name was.**

The next morning Emma laid asleep peacefully, she was curled up nice and warm in the bed. It was much more comfortable the beds at the orphanage, they felt like cardboard boxes they were so hard and uncomfortable, and the blankets she was covered up in were so warm and fluffy that she felt like she was sleeping on the most comfortable cloud in the whole wide world. She was so happy and peacefully that she had practically forgotten everything, she was gone to the world. Mary-Margret came in to wake her up and help her get ready for school but as soon as she opened the door and looked in the sleeping girl she smiled happily, she looked like a little angel sent from above, she didn't have the heart to but she had to. Mary-Margret quietly came to the side Emma was facing and knelt down to her face at level with her's and smiled,

"Emma….Emma honey, it's time to wake up." Mary-Margret called out to her gently shaking her arm as she did so, Emma groaned lightly at being roused the most peaceful and loving sleep she had in a very very long time,

"Mmmm, just five more minuets Sister Astrid." Emma begged the non-existent nun, Mary-Margret chuckled lightly and then moved to kiss Emma's forehead,

"No sweetie, its Mary-Margret. And it's time to wake up." She said gently as she stood up and opened the curtains and let morning light flood into the room, Emma opened up her eyes blearily and slowly with a yawn. She was expecting to see the familiar surroundings of the orphanage, but then slowly everything stated to come back to her as she woke up more and more. Then she smiled and looked at Mary-Margret excitedly, today was the first day of her life,

"Good morning Mary-Margret." She said happily as she hopped out of bed almost tackled her with for a hug, Mary-Margret swayed with the force with which Emma came at her for a hug though she chuckled happily,

"Oh now she remembers me." Mary-Margret joked with a chuckle in her voice as she wrapped her arms around Emma,

"Sorry." Emma apologized sheepishly,

"Its ok, I know what it's like." Mary-Margret said happily trying to make Emma realize there was nothing to apologize for,

"But it's getting late and youre gonna be late for school if you don't get moving." Mary-Margret added after a second and started to usher Emma into the shower,

"Why so early?" Emma whined,

"Because little boys and girls learn better when they've been dragged out of bed at ungodly hours of the morning." Mary-Margret joked with a smile, she would have to remember that Emma isn't that much of a morning person,

"Alright alright, I'm going." Emma said with a goofy over exaggerated roll of her eyes,

"Good girl, breakfast will be ready for you when you're done getting ready." Mary-Margret called to her as Emma entered the bathroom with her clothes that she was going to wear today, Mary-Margret finished getting herself ready for another day of teaching. It was different to be out making breakfast for two and hearing the shower going, but it was good, she didn't feel so alone in the morning like she usually did. Eventually Emma found her way out of the shower and quickly got herself dressed and ready to face another day, but this wasn't any other day, it was the start of a brand new sort of day when she could be happy and feel loved for the first time in her life.

Emma came down to eggs, bacon, and toast waiting for her, she smiled when she saw the little spread on the counter waiting for her,

"Sorry it's nothing special, I'll make something special on the weekend." Mary-Margret apologized,

"No, no this is great." Emma thanked as she looked at the food hungrily,

"You really don't have to go out of your way for me, you've already done so much for me that couldn't ever hope to repay." Emma added quickly, Mary-Margret smiled,

"There's no need to thank me or whatever, Emma. I do it because I love you sweetheart." Mary-Margret replied gently with a smile,

"I just hope you can feel comfortable enough to call me Mom, when you're ready of course." Mary-Margret said trying to fight the blush that was coming across her face to which Emma smiled,

"Thank you mom." Emma replied happily which made Mary-Margret smile and out of happiness grab Emma and envelope her in a hug which caused Emma to giggle out of surprise and joy, after a moment Mary-Margret let go,

"It's getting late kiddo, let's eat up and get to school." Mary-Margret said as she turned to her plate and she started to dig in.

After a time they both finished their meals and gathered their things for the day and Mary-Margret ushered Emma out of the apartment. As Emma was heading down the stairs to exit the building Mary-Margret stopped her,

"Emma, I wanted to give you something." Mary-Margret said before she gave her a key,

"This is a privilege, I think you're old enough to be home alone. Or at least until I get off work and can come home. I only ask that you don't have people over unless you have permission, you make sure you lock up before and after you come and go, and that you try keep the place in one piece." Mary-Margret added as she handed the key to Emma,

"I don't really get off work until sometime after five because of the after school clubs I run and the volunteer work I do at the hospital." Mary-Margret explained as she started to usher Emma out the door and to the car,

"So you'll be on your own for a couple of hours, if you need me just call the school or call the hospital and I should be at either one, please let me know if you're going out with friends after school or what you're doing so I don't worry." Mary-Margret went on at a billion miles an hour which was making Emma a little dizzy with how fast and how worried Mary-Margret was,

"Mary-Margret, Mary-Margret, calm down please. You're going to blow a gasket." Emma said with a light chuckle in her voice as she held up her hands to try and calm down her new mother,

"I love you, and I love being here so you don't have to worry I'm not going to do anything that's either going to get me taken back to the orphanage, or make you mad at me. I will see you really quick after school to let you know what I'm going to be doing, speaking of which what clubs do you run? Maybe I can join some after school clubs so you won't have to worry about me as much." Emma added with a smile, she didn't want Mary-Margret to worry so much about her, especially this much to the point that any more worrying was going to make her sick. Though it was nice to have someone who cared so much about her wellbeing that they almost made themselves sick for her.

"Well I'm in charge of the art enthusiasts club and the nature club." Mary-Margret said proudly, though what she wasn't explaining was that the art club wasn't a focus on just the visual arts like drawing and painting, but all forms of art including writing and poetry. It really was a much more fun club than what it seemed,

"Oh ummm cool." Emma said trying not make it seem like she view both clubs as lame,

"Oh come on, they're not that bad." Mary-Margret said with a bit of pout,

"Why don't you come with me to the art club, what do you have to lose?" Mary-Margret added trying to prod Emma to come with her,

"Well...Ok, I'll come." Emma agreed, much to Mary-Margret's delight.

"Great, you won't regret it." Mary-Margret said excitedly.

Eventually they made it to the school and after many many words of worry from Mary-Margret they were in the classroom together, Emma took her seat and got herself ready for class. Slowly the others started to filter into the room before the bell rang for class to start, this was the only thing that hadn't changed much for Emma, school was still as boring and dull as ever. Nothing in the world would ever be able to make school fun, but don't tell that to Mary-Margret. The day progressed the way it normally did like it was any ordinary average day, when the final bell rang however Emma didn't pack up her things to go. She agreed to stay with Mary-Margret for her art club, she wasn't expecting too much from it so she just sat there waiting for the classroom to empty,

"So what are we focusing on today?" Emma asked curiously thought she figured they were going to focus on the finer points of finger painting,

"Well not all art is visual, aside from things like painting and drawing we also focus on like poetry, short story writing, and even a little bit of song writing. Umm lyrics not musicality. There are so many other mediums out there to express yourself other than just paper and canvas" Mary-Margret answered finally showing everything that she intended to focus on throughout the year in this art club,

"Starting today and for about the next couple of weeks we'll be studying story writing." Mary-Margret added excitedly, not many people knew this about her but she was a bit of a closet writer. She loved writing stories when she had time, essentially for Mary-Margret this club was really just an outlet for her to get her fix in for her hobbies. Some of what she was saying sounded pretty cool and interesting to Emma, maybe this club wouldn't be too bad. She figured what the hell, why not? It was also a good opportunity to spend time with her new mother,

"Ok that sounds kinda cool." Emma said out loud,

"Yeah it is." Mary-Margret said with a lightness in her voice, at that moment a hand full of kids came into the room. They seemed to be kids from a lot of different classic school stereotypes that she didn't expect to see come to anything like this, but she felt a lot better knowing she wasn't the only one there. Mary-Margret started the club and started to talk about what they were gonna focus on and the other kids were good kids and accepted it without complaint, they were the sort that did enjoy art in its many forms. Mary-Margret showed them a few writing styles and a few ways to draw inspiration for writing a short story and then gave them a fun assignment to come up with an imaginative and immersive short story, not for a grade but for fun, for them to practice what they learned and to appreciate the art. As the group approached four-thirty Mary-Margret stopped them and dismissed them until their next meeting, the group got up and left and thanked Mary-Margret for all her help,

"Ok was that as bad as you thought it was going to be?" Mary-Margret asked Emma,

"No, I guess not." Emma said a smile on her face,

"It was actually pretty fun." Emma added to her shyness, which of course Mary-Margret smiled at being right,

"I'm gonna go to the hospital to volunteer, did you wanna come with?" Mary-Margret asked curiously, Emma grew a little cocky smile,

"Well I would….But I cant, I've got so much homework. My teacher is a real slave driver, just piles on and on." Emma joked being a little bit of a miss smarty-pants,

"Oh, ha ha, very funny." Mary-Margret retorted with a chuckle,

"Can I give a lift if you're offering?" Emma asked after she had her laugh,

"Oh you know what I would, but I just have so many papers to grade from students they just keep bringing them in. They're real slave drivers just keep piling it on." Mary-Margret said with a grin and chuckle of her own,

"OK ok ok ha ha." Emma said laughing her self as she play hit Mary-Margret softly on the arm,

"Come on kiddo." Mary-Margret said as she started to usher her daughter out of the classroom and out to where they parked the car that morning. They got in the car and drove to the apartment, when they got there Emma gathered up her stuff and started to get off the car,

"Emma, sweetie, think you could take my bag down too?" Mary-Margret asked hopefully,

"Sure." Emma said happily with a smile as she reached into the back and got her mother's bag before getting off the car,

"Ok and you got your key right?" Mary-Margret asked her curiously,

"Yes." Emma answered,

"Ok and you know the emergency contact numbers are next to the phone." Mary-Margret asked,

"Yes mom." Emma responded, and it carried on this way for a few more minuets before Emma finally stepped in,

"Mom! I'm gonna be ok." Emma said trying to calm Mary-Margret down,

"Ok." Mary-Margret said with a smile,

"I'll be home in about a couple of hours, how about when I get home we make a pizza from scratch?" Mary-Margret offered, Emma smiled,

"That sounds good." Emma answered excitedly,

"Ok go, you're holding up traffic." Emma added as she looked behind Mary-Margret's car that's when Mary-Margret noticed,

"Oh oops, Ok see you soon, I love you!" Mary-Margret called out before she drove away. Emma stood there in between the parallel parked cars thinking what Mary-Margret said, 'I love you' it sounded nice, and it felt even more amazing to be loved by someone. Emma smiled and went in side to the apartment to do her homework.

 **A/N: Ok so heres another chapter, thank you guys so much for all the follows on the story and my writings and such. I'm sorry its taken me so long to bust out with another chapter, but here it is. I thought this was a good natural place to break up the story for the next chapter. I wanted to thank my friends** Bagofmiracles, her28thyear, troubledsoulbarnes, ipaintedthemred **For sounding off for me on tumblr when I asked for help with what clubs mary-margret would run at school. If you guys are role players and want to write with me don't be afraid to come to me on any of my blogs ( . , .com, . , and . ). Last but not least please continue to follow and review, you guys following my work and giving me such great feedback drives me to want to write more so thanks for so much already and please invite a friend to read this thing, it seems to be really popular lol. Peace guys.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Finding her Way Home**

 **By: Lord-of-Dragons2007**

 **A/N:** I do not own the characters, concepts, and so on.

Emma did what she was told and she started to work on her homework, she had been to many school and she had struggled though all the content, but this was really first time she had actually done two things. One she actually enjoyed school and loved going every day with her friends, and two she found her homework easy for a change. Then she did have an awesome teacher/mother to help her with it, things were good, she was happy. As she got inside she figured it couldn't hurt to have the tv on in the background while she worked on her homework. She had set up shop in the den on the coffee table with her books, notebooks and other materials she would need to get her homework done. She worked at a decent pace, taking little breaks to get immersed in the tv show she was watching while she worked. About an hour later she had finished her homework and put her things away except for her history book. Emma was a fan of history class so while she waited for her new mother to get back she just sat back on the couch and just read her history book, eventually she had fallen asleep on the couch with the history book open and faced down on her little body. About forty-five minuets later Mary-Margret had entered the apartment,

"Emma?" she called out as she put her bag and a couple of grocery bags on the counter. Thats when she noticed Emma sleeping on the couch with her history book on her, Mary-Margret put her hand over her heart and just smiled at the adorable sight before her. As much as she didn't have the heart to wake Emma up she had to, because then she wouldn't want to sleep at bedtime. Mary-Margret sat down next to Emma on couch and gently shook her shoulder,

"Emma?...Emma, honey, wake up..." Mary-Margret called out to her gently, after the second time her name was called Emma stirred and woke up finally, her big blue eyes finally cracked open and she looked around and thats when she saw Mary-Margret and everything came back to her,

"OH man, I must have fallen asleep." Emma said as she picked up her book off of herself and closed it and put it down beside her covering her mouth as she let out another little yawn,

"Oh yeah you were out." Mary-Margret said with a soft chuckle in her voice and a big smile on her face,

"If it makes a difference, you were the cutest little angel right now when I saw you." Mary-Margret gushed over her, which made Emma blush and turn a few shades of red,

"Thanks." Emma replied refusing to make eye contact with her mother,

"Did you do all of your homework?" Mary-Margret asked her curiously,

"Yes I did, it was easy." Emma answered now becoming more awake and less embarrassed,

"Good girl, now are you ready for dinner?" Mary-Margret praised and then asked her question curiously, Emma's mind mind and expression went blank for a moment as she thought about why why Mary-Margret would be so excited about dinner and then she remembered their conversation earlier and then her face lit up,

"Yeah!" Emma exclaimed excitedly,

"When do we start?" Emma asked excitedly,

"Right now, we just have to wash our hands and start getting ingredients out." Mary-Margret explained happily with a big smile on her face. Emma got up and went to the kitchen sink and began to wash her hands with the hand soap that was there, once she was washed and rinsed she dried her hands with the dish towel that was there by the sink. She moved out of the way and waited for Mary-Margret to do the same, once they were both washed Emma spoke up,

"Ok so what do we need?" Emma asked curiously,

"Well I brought the toppings and cheese, what we need is: Three eggs, the salt, the jar of sauce, flower, butter, and I think thats it for now." Mary-Margret rattled off as she started to get out the pan she needed, the mixing bowl, and the measuring cups and spoons. Once everything was out and gathered up Mary-Margret rattled off the instructions in the recipe and let Emma do the mixing, when the crust was ready Mary-Margret helped her kneed the dough and spread it out on the nonstick pan. By the size of the pan it was going to be a pretty big but thing crusted pizza, Mary-Margret loved thin crust and hoped that Emma would like it too. Once it was in place Emma and Mary-Margret got the jar of Italian seasoned tomato sauce and with the spoons started to spread the sauce over the crust, Mary-Margret then started to preheat the oven to the proper temp as they spread the sauce over the raw dough. As they did this they started to talk and joke about things from just silly jokes they had heard to joking about each other,

"Come on mom, you know I did my math homework right. My math is always right!" Emma said smugly, though she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and when she went to point at Mary-Margret with the spoon she accidentally flung a small gob of sauce at her face, which Mary-Margret closed her eyes in shock and mock surprise,

"Oh my God, oops, Mom, I'm so sorry I didn't-" Emma started to apologize feverishly before she noticed the smile break out on Mary-Margret's face and the chuckle that was starting to bubble up from her throat,

"True, but your spelling is atrocious." Mary-Margret said jokingly as she did the same exactly and 'accidentally' flung some sauce that hit Emma square in the nose. Emma let out a gasp as she was surprised what had happened, though in the back of her mind she was thankful that Mary-Margret wasn't mad, which means she wouldn't be sent back to the orphanage. Mary-Margret laughed at Emma's reaction and reached for the paper towels, she handed one to Emma first and then took one herself and they both started to wipe the sauce away from their faces,

"Ok no more of that, we had our fun now lets get to finishing up the pizza." Mary-Margret said lightly but authoritatively as she went back to putting more sauce on the pizza, when they were finished with the sauce and the pizza was adequately covered in sauce Mary-Margret opened the large bag of market fresh grated mozzarella cheese and put it between them and started to take handfuls of it and drizzled it over the pizza trying to cover the sauce in the cheese, Emma followed suit and did the same though she occasionally only pulled out a little pinch of cheese and stuffed it quickly into her mouth, after about the fifth time she did that Mary-Margret finally spoke up,

"Hey come on, one you're going to spoil your appetite, and two aren't you going to have enough cheese with the pizza." Mary-Margret said mostly jokingly, he didn't want Emma to spoil her appetite before they even made the pizza,

"Ok, sorry." Emma said sheepishly as she continued to help drizzle the cheese. Once that was done Mary-Margret got out the mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, and bell peppers out and quickly and expertly started to slice each item up finely and put it all in a pile for Emma to distribute onto the pizza. Emma knew she was old enough to help cut the ingredients but she knew that Mary-Margret wouldn't let her do that for fear that she might cut herself on accident,

"This is looking really really good." Emma said excitedly when she finished placing the last of the ingredients on it,

"Two more things." Mary-Margret said as she got some melted garlic butter and and a basting brush and started to coat the crust in the liquid,

"Whats that?" Emma asked her curiously,

"Its just a little garlic butter mixed with some parmesan cheese, it'll be delicious I promise." Mary-Margret explained with a smile, when she was finished she took the large platter and put it in the hot oven and set the time for fifteen minuets,

"Ok so we'll check on it when the time runs out and see if its ready." Mary-Margret explained, but then Emma knit her brows in confusion,

"Ok so thats one thing, whats the other?" She asked curiously,

"Salad." Mary-Margret said excitedly,

"We are going to make our own tossed salad." She said as she pulled out a head of lettuce along with some cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, and a small onion. Mary-Margret made quick work of the ingredients and put them in a bowl and washed everything at once and then drained out the water, she mixed everything one last time and then served two bowls of salad and then put them on the counter where they were going to eat,

"Its green." Emma said as she poked at her salad with a fork,

"Yes it is, its good for you." Mary-Margret said as she got the ranch dressing and started to put it on top of her salad and then she mixed everything around. Mary-Margret held the bottle of dressing out for Emma to take, Emma took one whiff of it and made a disgusted face, she had never ranch before but she knew she was going to hate it,

"OK you don't have to have dressing on it but you need to eat everything else though please." Mary-Margret instructed lightly but firmly, Emma picked up a bit of lettuce with the fork and ate it, it wasn't that bad so she ate the lettuce and everything else. Though she didn't like it as much as she knew she was going to like the pizza she was able to eat it willingly and didn't have to coke it down as much as she thought she was, Mary-Margret smiled at this,

"See, was that so bad?" Mary-Margret asked Emma curiously,

"Bleh yes, if I turn green and start having stomach problems I'm blaming the salad." Emma said jokingly, she knew she was going to be just fine. Shortly after the timer went off and Mary-Margret went and checked on the pizza and smiled gleefully when she saw that it was perfectly ready, she grabbed the pot holders and fished the platter out of the oven and placed it down on the stove ranges. She got the pizza cutter and quickly cut slices for her and Emma, she served herself and Emma a large slice apiece and then put them on the counter where they sat and brought over shakers for the crushed pepper flakes and parmesan cheese. Emma smiled as she saw the fruits of her hard work on the pizza,

"This looks amazing." Emma said excitedly as she was putting as much parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes on her pizza,

"It sure does, we did a great job. We should open a business." Mary-Margret said with a wide beaming smile at her daughter. The two happily and hungrily ate the large pizza they had made, together they put it away easily. About half an hour later the last tasty bite was eaten,

"That was delicious." Emma praised as she sat back in her chair and just let the meal catch up with her,

"I'm stuffed." Mary-Margret responded, Emma giggled at her words and had a wise crack ready, it was too easy,

"Great, where should I mount you?" Emma asked her with a giggle, Mary-Margret wondered what she was talking about and looked at her with a confused look on her face and then she realized what Emma was saying,

"Ha ha very funny." Mary-Margret said chuckling herself,

"I thought so, thats why I said it." Emma replied now unable to contain her laughter which caused Mary-Margret to smile and laugh too, after a moment of laughing they both quieted down and Mary-Margret just looked at Emma with such adoration and love for her,

"What?" Emma asked her with a lightness in her voice,

"Nothing, just I'm so glad you're here. I love you sweetheart." Mary-Margret said happily with a smile but gentle loving smile on her face. For once in as far as she could remember Mary-Margret didn't feel alone in the apartment and maybe even in the world, and unknowingly to either of them, Emma felt the same way as Mary-Margret did, neither one of them spoke but they

Just sat there and enjoyed the other's company and closeness to them, not just physically but emotionally,

"I love you too mom." Emma said with a bright and brilliant smile of her own before she hopped down from her seat and came up behind Mary-Margret and enveloped her in a tight, warm, loving hug. Mary-Margret was so overtaken by the show of so much emotion from Emma that she just bought her hand up to her chest where Emma's arms were, without even realizing it Mary-Margret's eyes became misty and a single tear fell from her eye down her cheek tracing a faint line where the tear had traveled from and down her cheek and subsequently to Emma's arm. Feeling the sudden moisture Emma looked over onto Mary-Margret's face and saw her cry,

"Mom? Whats wrong?" Emma asked her worriedly, she was afraid she had done something to upset Mary-Margret to make her cry, her heart was pounding in her hears and her stomach lurched into her throat, was she going to be sent back to the orphanage? Mary-Margret checked for a moment,

"No nothings wrong sweetie, just...You make me very happy, these are tears of joy. I never imagined that I would have such a loving daughter." Mary-Margret answered with a soft lightness in her voice. Hearing this put Emma's anxieties at rest and she just smiled and held on to her mom even tighter at hearing her words. This was the new start that Emma had dreamed of, ever since she was brought here to Storybrooke, she had been wanting a new place to try and make a fresh start. Now here she was happier than she could have ever imagined for herself, she had a mother now finally, and above all now she had a home. Things were perfect, she couldn't ask for anything more than what she had now, the only thing she felt like she had missing was just a father in her life.

In that moment of both woman's happiness and the sudden touch of Mary-Margret's tear of happiness on Emma's skin, an attractive blonde haired coma patient woke up from his coma, his blue eyes opened slowly and he blearily looked around and tried to figure out where he was let alone who he was. He couldn't remember much and what he could remembered seemed to be a jumble and some of it just seemed flat out impossible, maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him from when he was in the coma for God knows how long. He sat up slowly and then fell back into the bed and fell asleep again, he felt weak and fatigued and so he fell back asleep soundly to the sounds of nurses and doctors scrambling to come to his side and try to check on him and and prod him to treat him since he had come out of the coma and to see who he was and what he could remember from before the coma.

 **A/N: Hey guys thanks for the reviews and the kind words on my story, I am truly loving this story as it is giving me all sorts of warm and fuzzies to write so I hope it gives you the same feeling its giving me. Anyway heres the new chapter, hope you guys love it and as always please review my work, I love hearing what you all have to say about this story or any of my other stories I have going.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Finding her Way Home**

 **By: Lord-of-Dragons2007**

 **A/N: I do not own the characters, concepts, and so on. Also I know everyone is excited to have David come around and stuff, don't worry lol he will make an appearance soon enough. Please enjoy.**

After both women had had their cry they smiled to each other happily,

"want some ice cream? Or are you too full for ice cream?" Mary-Margret asked curiously to which Emma groaned with feigned pain,

"Uhhhhg no more food" Emma groaned out as she pushed her empty plate away from her, to which Mary-Margret chuckled at her, Emma started to chuckle too and grew a little bit of a smile,

"Maybe a little later." Emma added after a moment or two,

"Ok but not too late, eating sweets and junk food late at night isn't good for you sweetie." Mary-Margret chimed in,

"Ok." Emma replied with a feigned exasperated tone,

"So what do you do for fun?" Emma asked her new mom curiously, Mary-Margret thought about the question for a moment,

"Well, I like to read, I like to paint and draw and color. And I sometimes like to do puzzles." Mary-Margret answered chipperly, Emma kinda thought those hobbies were a little lame. Though she figured that they weren't so bad, she liked to read a little bit too, and drawing and painting sounded like fun and how could you not want to color in your own work right?

"What about you?" Mary-Margret asked Emma,

"Well I dont really know." Emma answered quietly and then a somber mood set in over them,

"I've never really in a place where I could have free time to do anything fun that I wanted to do." Emma added after a moment to clarify her answer, hearing this really distraught Mary-Margret. It was really sad to know that the foster homes and group homes she was in wouldn't even let her explore who she was, what she liked to do. Mary-Margret put on a smile trying to mood away,

"Well why don't we figure it out together." Mary-Margret said cheerful before she got up and took the dishes and put them in the sink. Emma smiled but she was a little puzzled,

"How are we going to do that?" Emma asked curiously,

"Well I have some extra art supplies, we can try what I have here for hobbies and stuff and see if you like it." Mary-Margret answered as she went to a little cabinet by the window and started to pull out a few sketch books, pencils, paints and a canvas or two. Emma walked over to her and saw the stuff she was pulling out an it seemed like fun, however Emma was faced with another issue, she didn't know how to draw or paint. She started to feel a little self conscious about her abilities and was sure this may not have been such a great idea after all. When Mary Margret was done pulling things out of her little art cabinet she looked up at Emma and she could almost sense what she was thinking,

"Emma? Are you ok?" Mary-Margret asked gently,

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emma lied quietly,

"You know, I may not be the greatest artist, but I'm sure I know enough to get you started." Mary-Margret said with a beaming smile and an excited tone to try and convince Emma that everything would be ok, so far Mary-Margret had been so nice to her that she decided maybe she should try and open up to her,

"I don't know how to draw or paint." she admitted quietly and shyly,

"Thats ok sweetie, I can show you how." Mary-Margret said cheerfully, she knew that Emma had her reasons for being so reserved and more than likely had issues with various things and that it must weigh on her and maybe sometimes bring her down emotionally, but Mary-Margret was determined to build her back up, to make sure that despite all of that Emma could be like any other happy and care free child,

"Well I've always wanted to learn how to draw, I think its such an amazing talent, you don't need much and you can do it anywhere and any time." Emma spoke up still quietly but slowly starting to open up a little more,

"Great because I was going to start with drawing, I think drawing is pretty much the basis of everything it seems." Mary-Margret said happily as she got an old sketch book of hers and a relatively new one that didn't seemed to be used yet. She got the sketch books, some drawing pencils and some colored pencils and put everything else back into the cabinet, she took a seat started to get settled in. Mary-Margret started to flip though her sketch book to find a blank page Emma was able to see some of her work, Mary-Margret was an amazing artist, she started to wonder if she ever sold any of her art or if she hung some of it up around the apartment,

"Not that good of an artist? Mom, you're amazing!" Emma exclaimed as she looked on in wonder at the various drawings real life things, fantasy creatures and everything else anyone could imagine. What she seemed particularly fascinated in was things in a fantasy setting such as knights and castles and even a dragon or two, Emma was so taken by Mary-Margret's work, the attention to detail with the dragons, it was almost like the things she drew were alive that they were just merely living in pages of the worn, beaten, but well loved sketch book,

"Wow I wanna learn how to draw like that." Emma spoke as she stayed awestruck with her mother's work,

"And you will." Mary-Margret said cheerfully as she finally found a blank page and handed Emma a pencil to use,

"Lets get started with the basics of shading, lighting, and a little bit about perspective." Mary-Margret said as she started to direct and show Emma how to do the things she listed, part of her was amazed and part of her wasn't so much amazed at how fast Emma was picking up what Mary-Margret was teaching her, she was a natural, it looked like all she needed was a little bit of guidance. After that she showed Emma some more advanced techniques for drawing perspective, it wasn't any as fancy as showing her how to draw a complex figure like an actual full bodied animal in action or a complex building with all sorts of curves and such, but at least Emma was learning the basics and getting into some advanced things. They both stayed like this for the majority of the night, it was getting close to ten when Mary-Margret decided that she needed to get Emma heading to bed,

"So how do you like drawing?" Mary-Margret asked Emma,

"Well its a lot of work thats for sure," She started with a chuckle,

"But I'm liking it, its a lot of fun, I cant wait to get to your level, I wanna some really stuff like you draw." Emma finished excitedly as she she helped her mother clean off where they were working and put stuff away where it belonged,

"I'm glad to hear it, if there is one thing you need to remember about art in general no matter what art form you're talking about or are involved with its this. There is no mistake in art, its an interpretation or a creation from you, so don't pressure yourself that something has to look perfect because it doesn't." Mary-Margret said gently instructing her on something that took her a long time to learn and realize,

"I'll remember that." Emma said with a smile,

"Ok kiddo, school night, time for bed." Mary-Margret said firmly to which Emma slumped her shoulders disappointedly,

"I know..." she said with an obvious pout in her voice, though there was something she wanted to ask her mom to do. But she thought it was stupid, she was already too old for that and there was no way she was going to do it. Sure Mary-Margret was nice but she was going to do what she wanted. She stayed rooted to where she was standing, Mary-Margret could sense the conflict and hesitation Emma had, she turned around and looked at her. Written on her face and in her eyes she could see she was right,

"Emma, honey? Whats wrong?" Mary-Margret asked in a semi-worried tone, Emma came out of her internal struggle with herself,

"Nothing, I'm fine." Emma tried to lie to her,

"Emma you know I love and I would do anything for you." Mary-Margret said trying to gently press Emma to tell her the truth of what she was really thinking,

"Its...Its gonna sound weird." she started before she paused, she had to prepare herself for the worst and what she was going to say next,

"And feel free to say no, it wont hurt my feelings or whatever. But...Umm, I was wondering, if you could read me a bedtime story?" She asked curiously in a nervous rush as she was a bit embarrassed to ask such a thing from her new mother, Mary-Margret smiled gently at her,

"Is that all? Of course i'll come read to you." Mary-Margret said gently before she enveloped Emma in a warm soothing hug, Emma hugged her back and gently let out a sigh of relief, she felt safe here, in Mary-Margret's arms, in her mother's arms,

"Go get ready for bed and brush your teeth and I'll be in just a bit to read you your bedtime story." Mary-Margret instructed as she let Emma go from her embrace, she couldn't help but smile at the way Emma scurried away like an excited five year old, for a twelve year old she was certainly cute and seemed to like a few things that a five year old would like, though she suspected that it was mainly because she never got any of the things that a normal child would get. She really cursed the foster system and the monsters that had messed with her so badly.

Mary-Margret straightened up the apartment a little bit and got herself a glass of water before she dug up the old storybook that she had in the apartment, it was an old and battered leather bound book. She had it since as long as she could remember, but she liked it, the stories in it weren't very conventional but they were very interesting, they just...Spoke to her. The name of the book was 'Once Upon A Time'. She took the book with her and her glass of water in to Emma's room, Mary-Margret smiled when she saw her daughter laying in bed all nice and warm and cozy. She came over and sat down in bed with her,

"This was one of my favorites growing up, Ive had it since as far back I can remember, I hope you like the stories that are in here." Mary-Margret said as she opened the book to the table of contents,

"What do you say I read you the story of Snow White?" Mary-Margret asked Emma,

"Ok, I like Snow White." Emma replied quietly as she snuggled a little closer to her mother,

"Great." Mary-Margret replied as she turned to the page where the story started,

"This one is a little bit long so I'll read until I reach a good stopping point and we can pick it up again tomorrow." Mary-Margret said firmly to which Emma just nodded at her words,

"Ok, Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away..." Mary-Margret started reading, as she read Emma thought about some things as well as listening to the story. She couldn't help but smile as she thought about how much better her life turned out to be right now. She had a great meal, her mother was helping her learn something she wanted to learn for a very long time now, and here she was snuggled up in a very warm and comfortable bed with her mother who was now reading her a bedtime story. She felt so lucky to be here, to be adopted by such a wonderful woman, and above all else she felt so loved and cherished, for the first time in her life she felt loved. As her mother carried on reading the story Emma felt so comfortable and loved and safe and protected that she gently fell into a very restful and peaceful sleep where she couldn't help but fall asleep with a small and cute smile on her face. Noticing this Mary-Margret found a good stopping point relatively quick, she gently moved trying not to sir her sleeping daughter. She got out of the bed and knelt down beside her and quietly watched her sleep for a little bit while she gently stroked Emma's golden locks of blonde hair tenderly and lovingly,

"Good night angel." Mary-Margret whispered gently before she moved to plant a gentle and loving kiss on her daughter's forehead. Mary-Margret then quietly moved to the door and shut off the light and with one last look she closed the door, leaving a little crack in the door so the light from the hall nightlight could illuminate a little bit of the room and still leave it dark enough for Emma to sleep peacefully.

Mary-Margret smiled and let out a content sigh before she returned to the front of the apartment quickly washed the dishes and other utensils they used to make the pizza and such, and then quickly reviewed her lesson plan for the next day. She figured she could catch up on grading tomorrow night or over the weekend. She then got ready for bed and went through her nightly rituals and went to bed quickly herself.

 **A/N: OK so heres a good stopping point, sorry its taken so long to update my stories, i'm working on all my stories in alphabetical order to the fandoms and then within the fandoms for the ones that have more than one going at the same time. So between that, working full time, and rping doesnt leave much time but I'm still here making it work because I love telling these stories and i love hearing your feedback on my stores. So please keep reading and reviewing and I'll try to update as often as i can. Thanks everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Finding Her Way Home**

 **By: Lord-of-Dragons2007**

 **A/N: I do no own the characters, concepts, and so on. Please enjoy :)**

The next morning was a rush as usual to get up and get going to school, today was a lot easier for Emma as she fell quickly into the rhythm of the way things worked around her new home. Even though she felt comfortable around Mary-Margret and she knew things were different here than in the other homes she made sure to not step a foot out of line as she didn't want risk what she had here, things were good, at least for now. The two worked quickly to get themselves showered, dressed, and a good breakfast together before they got in Mary-Margret's car and we're off to school. There were some good things about Emma being in the same class as her adoptive mother, the good thing was that they got to spend all day together, the bad thing was that she knew when Emma had homework she had to do.

Of course going in with the teacher meant that Emma was there before anyone else, which wasn't bad. It allowed Emma to get herself settled, read a little bit ahead in her textbook, it was nice to be able to do all of this in the quiet classroom before everyone came in crazy and hyper and became something that Mary-Margret had to deal with.

Their day went as usual, it was like any other day, everything went good and everybody was happy. Today however was another day where Mary-Margret went to go volunteer at the hospital, she dropped Emma off at the apartment and told her to go do her homework and complete the reading assignment, Emma said she would and went inside the apartment building. Mary-Margret went to the hospital and parked in her usual spot and went in and signed in to volunteer for the hospital's records. As she was making her rounds she stopped at her favorite patient, the John Doe who had been in a coma since before she started volunteering at the hospital, though today was different, he was just some vegetable in the hospital bed. He was awake and being examined by a nurse who was checking his various status from his blood pressure to his brain wave activity on the various machines he was still hooked up to, it was just procedure that they keep him hooked up to make sure he was ok, that he was going to lapse into another coma while he was driving or worse. Mary-Margret came into his room and smiled,

"Oh my God, you're awake." Mary-Margret said excitedly as she came by his bedside, beyond the man being a good listener because he was in a coma and couldn't do anything else other than listen Mary-Margret found him incredibly good looking, in a charming kind of way,

"Hi, yes…Umm, do I know you?" The man said curiously as he furrowed his brow and tried to search his mind for where he met her before, but he couldn't, he was suffering from amnesia and couldn't remember who he was, where he was, anything,

"I'm sorry, well we've never met. I'm a volunteer here and I've been helping look after you while you were in your Coma, I would come in every day and just sit with you or talk with you for a few minuets everyday. Hoping it would help bring you out of it." Mary-Margret explained a little embarrassed at the fact that she was so excited to see him, she should be because this man was awake and back in control of his life, but she was embarrassed because she really didn't know this man,

"Oh, well then I guess that explains why your voice sounds so familiar to me." The man said giving her a little bit of a smile, he found her very attractive as well. There was something he felt for her, he couldn't quite explain it but he felt…connected to her some how. At the man's smile and words Mary-Margret blushed and smiled back at him shyly, the nurse when she was done noting the Man's vitals turned Mary-Margret and the Man,

"His muscles are a little atrophied from being off them for so long, can you escort him on a little walk around the hospital ground? Some fresh air might shake loose the cobwebs of your memory sir." The nurse suggested with a smile before she left to get the man some proper clothes other than the hospital gown he wore, the man gave her look and it made Mary-Margret blush and giggle like a school girl,

"Would you like to take the coma patient for a walk?" He asked her with a very charming smile that again made Mary-Margret blush,

"Yes, I would like to go for a walk with you." Mary-Margret answered back with a smile.

Meanwhile back at the loft Emma sat down on the couch with her backpack and a glass of tea, she turned on the tv to some after school cartoons and got out her math book, bleh math, she thought. She wasn't particularly fond of it, but she needed to do her homework if she was going to get good grades and make her new mother happy, so she set to working on her math homework. An hour or two later she was happy she successfully finished the last problem that was assigned for homework and she closed her math book with a snap,

"In your face math!" Emma exclaimed with excitement as she put the offending book back in her backpack to not give it another look or thought, though half unfortunately that meant she had to finish off the last chapter of the book the class was assigned for a book report and start on said report. She pulled out the small novel and checked the number of pages left to finish it, she had fifty pages left. She sighed and let her head fall back on the couch and she put both her hands on her face,

"Too much homework!" Emma exclaimed in defeat from behind her hands, this was not happening, she didn't have this much homework, she needed less homework and more free time to play and watch tv and eat junk food and draw. Emma brought her hands down from her face and picked up the book and figured she might as well get started so she could finish faster and hopefully get a lot of work done on her report.

Meanwhile back at the hospital, the nurse attending the man had helped him into some more appropriate attire than the backless hospital gown. Even though it was still the same sort of look and feel as the backless gown at least it was still a tee shirt and a pair of pants which the man was grateful for, he was then given some slippers and robe for his little walk. He was ready to the nurse came out and got Mary-Margret, she entered and smiled at the man,

"Are you ready to go yet? I'd have to say you're worse than a woman." Mary-Margret joked a little,

"Sorry, been out of it for a while." The man apologized with a blush on his face at her joke,

"Come on, let's get some fresh air." Mary-Margret said warmly with a small smile on her face, she was a little worried that since he had been out of it in a coma for so long how weak he'd be, she went over to his side and helped him up to this feet and helped him steady with the iv that he was connected to at the moment. The doctors wanted to keep him connected to the iv for another day to be sure he would be alright. The man gingerly got up and held onto the iv for support, he didn't want to put too much weight on Mary-Margret because he knew she wouldn't be able to support his full bodyweight. Though oddly enough he could handle himself, sure he was a little dizzy from standing so suddenly after who knows how long he had been in the coma, after that initial moment he was alright. It was like riding a bike, he or his body hadn't forgotten how to walk. It was just a little difficult to get use to the motion again. The two walked to the elevator and took it down to the ground floor where the two walked out into the little garden that was in the back of the hospital and on the edge of the forest, it was landscaped beautifully, it was a great place for patients to come for some fresh air (the ones that were able to move that is). They walked in some relative silence as neither one knew what to say, mostly because the man didn't know anything, he was suffering from some amnesia, a possible side effect of the coma or some other complication from when he was found in the coma. After the second time of going around the garden something came to man,

"David…" He murmured,

"My name. I think my name was David Nolan." David said hopefully as he looked at Mary-Margret, she looked back at him and smiled,

"I guess the nurse was right, some fresh air did shake loose something. That's really something good to go on, we can at least look you up and see who you were before the coma." Mary-Margret said excitedly, which made David smile too as he could at least see who he was before the coma, remember something from what the amnesia took from him. The two continued walking and as they continued to walk, at some point Mary-Margret reached for David's hand. When she slipped hers into his it felt. Right, it felt like she was complete and content in this moment she held his hand, he felt the same way too. Despite everything being taking from him and he didn't know who he was or what he did he felt happy, like everything was going to be ok while he held her hand. After the third time David started to feel a little tired, he needed to rest. Mary-Margret picked up on this and started to direct him back inside the hospital and back to his hospital room, once he was situated again in the bed the nurse came back in,

"How was your walk?" The nurse asked curiously as she checked his vitals on the machine that was attached to the iv,

"Great!" Both David and Mary-Margret exclaimed and then looked at each other and then back at the nurse with a blush, the nurse smiled at both of them and thought that the pair made a cute couple,

"I remembered something, my name is David Nolan." He added after a moment to get over the blush that was on his face,

"Great, now we can stop calling you John Doe." The nurse said as she made the note on the chart she had in her hand,

"I'll make sure to let the doctor know so we can pull up your medical record." The nurse added after a moment or two, when she was done taking some notes on the chart she put it back on the hook at the food of the bed and then looked at her watch,

"Mary, I thought you'd be home already." The nurse said to Mary-Margret,

"What do you mean?" Mary-Margret asked her curiously,

"Well you're usually gone by about five, it's almost six." The nurse answered casually like it wasn't anything major, Mary-Margret however opened her eyes wide and realized she should have been home over an hour ago and needed to get home for Emma,

"Oh wow, I must have lost track of time. I have to be going." Mary-Margret apologized/announced,

"It was great that you remembered your name David and that you're awake now." Mary-Margret said as she tried to hurry out the door,

"Hey wait, will I see you again?" David asked her hopefully,

"Yeah, I'll be back tomorrow." Mary-Margret called half way out the door as she rushed out to go sign out, gather up her belongings and hurried home. David was a little sad to see her go, but was glad that he'd see her again. Maybe this time he'd try to talk to her and get to know her rather than just standing there like a zombie.

It didn't take Mary-Margret to get home, she entered the loft and found Emma reading her book report assignment,

"Hey I'm home kiddo." Mary-Margret chimed in a sing-song voice,

"Hey mom, what took you so long?" Emma asked Mary-Margret curiously,

"Nothing, just. Lost track of time." Mary-Margret answered with a little bit of a blush on her face, this didn't go unnoticed by Emma,

"Why are you blushing?" Emma asked her a little more hard nosed,

"Am I? I'm just flushed because, I wanted to rush home to be with you sweetie." Mary-Margret answered lamely, though it was entirely plausible for that to be the excuse, as much as Emma didn't buy it she decided to let it go. Mary-Margret would tell her what was up when she felt like talking about it.

"Anyway what do you feel like for dinner sweetie?" Mary-Margret asked her curiously,

"Ummm, I don't know." Emma answered back,

"How about tacos?" Mary-Margret asked her curiously, which made Emma's face light up in excitement,

"Yeah that sounds fantastic!" Emma said excitedly as she got up and went to go hug Mary-Margret,

"Great, now come over here and wash your hands, you're gonna help me." Mary-Margret instructed as she went to the fridge and started to pull out the ingredients they would need. Emma helped chop up the peppers, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, then Mary-Margret was in charge of managing the frying pan and cooking the tacos, Emma's job was to prepare them with the meat and the tortilla. Between the both of them they quickly had dinner ready and were seated ready to eat, after a few minuets of them eating Mary-Margret turned to Emma,

"How are they?" Mary-Margret asked Emma curiously,

"They're delicious!" Emma exclaimed with her mouth half full of food which made Mary-Margret chuckle at her daughter's excitement,

"So how was your day?" Mary-Margret asked Emma curiously,

"It was alright, just way too much homework. I think you need to chill out on the homework mom." Emma answered, half jokingly half serious, mostly about the homework. This made Mary-Margret chuckle a little bit as she tried to finish the bite she had in her mouth.

"Well I would, but then how you guys going to learn anything?" Mary-Margret asked her as an answer to Emma's question,

"Come on listening to lectures for twenty-four hours a day isn't enough?" Emma redirected if not a little overly dramatic,

"Ok it's six hours a day, and no, you all need the practice and the extra time to practice some more." Mary-Margret replied which solicited a groan from Emma,

"Oh mom!" She exclaimed, much to Mary-Margret's amusement before she took another bite of her taco. Much of the meal progressed in the same way with both of them enjoying the other's company and making each other laugh. Once dinner was finished they both worked to put the leftovers away and clean up the kitchen, when the kitchen was clean they both went to the couch on the living room and put the tv on to evening tv shows that made them both laugh or held their interest while they each worked on their respective tasks. Emma finished up her book for her book report and started on her report while Mary-Margret started on lesson plans for the next couple of weeks, they each worked hard and in silence with the occasional looking up at the tv and watching a few moments and then going back to their respective tasks. After about an hour or two Emma finally felt like she reached a good stopping point after finishing her homework for the night and getting semi-ahead of her work load and put her school things away back in her backpack and put it away for the night and settled into the couch with the sketch pad that Mary-Margret gave her and she started to absently fooling on the pad as she watched tv. By the end of the night she had finished whatever she was absently doodling,

"Emma, it's bedtime." Mary-Margret chimed in as she put her lesson book away and looked at her daughter,

"Ok mom, I know the drill." Emma replied as she put her sketch pad down on the table, this was the first peek that Mary-Margret had at what Emma was sketching,

"Emma, this is very good. Where did you get the idea for this?" Mary-Margret asked her curiously as she praised her adoptive daughter for her work,

"Oh, I don't know I just kinda went with it." Emma replied with a smile as she went to go change into her pajamas and brush her teeth. Mary-Margret however stayed fixated on the picture Emma drew, it was a picture of what looked like a glass unicorn. Several glass unicorns strung together in some sort of apparatus, for some reason this thing seemed to catch Mary-Margret's attention, it stirred something in her. She didn't know why but it just struck a cord in her and found it hard to take her eyes off of it, let alone understand the emotional tones she was feeling. All sorts of emotions from fear, to anger, to loss, she wasn't sure if it was her imposing something into Emma's drawing or if that was the way Emma's drawing was. After a few moments of looking at and admiring Emma's drawing she closed the sketch pad and put it back on the coffee table and wen to go through her own nightly rituals, when she was done she came to Emma's room and gently knocked on the door,

"Hey kiddo, want another bedtime story and to be tucked in?" Mary-Margret asked her gently as she didn't want to embarrass Emma,

"Yes, please." Emma answered sheepishly as she waited for her mother to get the story book and made herself comfortable next to Emma,

"Ok this is the story of Rumplestilskin." Mary-Margret said before she started reading,

"Once upon a time…" Mary-Margret started reading to her daughter, she continued on the story and as she read on she let her voice get softer and softer to make it easier for Emma to fall asleep. When the story was over Mary-Margret placed a soft kiss on Emma's cheek and carefully got out of her bed as to not to disturb her and she gently pulled the covers over Emma and smiled down at her little angel, she quietly tip toed to the door to Emma's room and turned out the lights and closed the door a little bit, Mary-Margret made her way to her bedroom and got into bed and did a little light reading before she fell asleep herself.

 **A/N: Ok so here's the next chapter, and the now appearance of David, yay! I hope you all liked this chapter and sorry for the long wait for the next chapter, life got busy and I had a hard time finding a muse/energy to continue this story, but I'm back and here's a new chapter! Hope you all like it and please read and review!**


End file.
